August 15, 2025
Part 2 of 3: Running A Digital Forensic Business
"You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
-Marcus Aurelius
NOTE: This is the second in a three-part series about starting, running and evolving a digital forensic professional services business. For part one, please click here.
Well, now you’ve done it! You’ve gone and started a Digital Forensic (DF) professional services business! So now what?
Whether you chose an LLC, an S-Corp, a DBA/alias, an incorporation or any combination of the aforementioned, it’s time to start getting to work and churning the business. So how does one (or a small team) do that? Marketing materials geared toward our industry tell us that the practice of digital forensics will churn billions in profit in the coming years, and that’s even with AI’s influence, so how do you get your bite at the DF apple? How do you maximize what you’ve learned with what you’ve built?
Marketing
If you’ve never run a business before, or even if you have in another industry, mistakes will be made. Take it from me, LOTS of mistakes will be made. The most notable and costly will probably be related to marketing. As I wrote in the article from 5 years ago, if you build it, they will not come. You need to go out and get your clients, and you do that by reaching out and touching them. The first article of the series discussed targeting WHO your clients will be, but HOW do you go about obtaining them? There are some tried and true vendor tactics in the legal services industry, but the over-arching rule at play is, you have to spend money to make money. Consider that, aside from software licenses, marketing was my single biggest budget item running my DF practice. But there’s good marketing and bad marketing, and knowing the difference can help save you a lot of money, time and wasted effort.
If you’re targeting a local or regional market-base, then your tactics (and costs) will likely be far less than if you’re targeting a nationwide market-base. In the first iteration of this series, I noted that I chose to hone my previous business offerings primarily in Virginia, because that’s where I was a member of law enforcement and that’s where I live and started my business. As such, I was able to focus the marketing efforts a little more on Virginia-based clients. This was done in a combination of sponsorships of targeted attorney’s associations as well as targeted Google ad words and even paper mailers sent to attorneys. When I started out, my full time job was not digital forensics, it was marketing. I learned very quickly that it is expensive and time-consuming, but it can be fun to monitor as well. In fact, it’s not just fun, it’s necessary. Knowing what works and what doesn’t work well in your marketing is paramount to targeting your desired client-base.
Stay away from marketing toward governmental entities, unless you’ve worked pre-startup to cultivate those relationships. Not only will it be a hard “sell” to them, but you’ll likely make less money and wait longer for it than marketing toward private attorneys. That’s not to say you can’t work to cultivate government work over time, but as a first target for line of business, it’s not a good leap. Plus, most government already has people in place to do what we do.
Think about which areas of litigation or investigation are in high demand and market toward that. Furthermore, don’t market to the people who don’t control the money. While I love paralegals and they assist their attorneys immensely in their practices, the generally don’t have decision-making authority about which experts to hire and where to spend the client’s money. They can have a fair degree of input over the decision, however, so they are a segment not to be ignored entirely.
Personal injury attorneys are great because they are zealous in their advocacy for their clients, but the problem becomes more one of viability in our practice combined with theirs. Many times, personal injury litigation does not progress to the point where they would need a digital forensic expert until many months or years after the incident being litigated. In our world, that means valuable data is lost. Many times, it even means the custodian of the data being sought has upgraded and changed their device entirely, so another challenge is presented. I’ve worked hard for over 10 years to chip away at the personal injury clientele, and the best plaintiff AND defense (civil) attorneys call me before litigation is even filed to get their client’s device(s) imaged. Unfortunately, those are still few and far between. It’s a work in progress.
Family & domestic law attorneys can be a great source, but they too come with some caveats. If a divorce or custody matter is contentious enough to warrant collection and analysis of digital data, that means 1) emotions are very high and 2) money is at stake. This causes a lot of stress on the case, and the lines between attorney and end-client can be blurred because many times, the attorney doesn’t want to deal with their overly-emotional end-client and the end-client “just wants to know” things like, was their estranged spouse cheating or hiding money. There’s a measurable difference between “just wants to know” and “evidence valuable for litigation”. I’ve worked divorce cases that have gone on for 6 years or more. They can be a never-ending quagmire of the law, and some of the aforementioned concerns on the part of the end-client may or may not be a relevant legal issue where you practice. Cheating spouses largely aren’t a relevant issue in Virginia, for example.
Criminal work is great because law enforcement is always on the cutting edge of obtaining digital evidence, so the attorneys will need someone with adequate training and experience to interpret that evidence. While it’s true probably 90-95% of this work will be on the defense side, it’s also important to try and cultivate some prosecutorial work. It shows you’re willing to work with either party in the case and emphasizes impartiality and reliance on the evidence, not which “side” you’re working for. I’ve received many prosecution cases by referral through networking, which I’ll touch on later.
Finally, the corporate cases. If you’re trained and experienced enough to conduct not only insider threat cases, but also incident responses cases, then this is a great area to target some practice. And beyond the corporation, these cases often lead to litigation, which is handled by employment attorneys. The rub here is, how do you market to a corporation who may never need your services? This is probably where internet marketing comes in best.
Internet marketing is not cheap, if done right, but it can make the phone ring. The challenge is, does it make the phone ring for the types of cases you WANT, not the types of cases you DON’T want? Admittedly, I never really perfected this, and I’m not entirely sure it’s able to be perfected. I think even with the best ad words and search terms in your favor on the internet, you’ll still get calls from people in various stages of mental illness wanting you to see if their phone is hacked. It’s a reality of private practice (and government work too).
Networking
Networking should not be considered a separate piece from marketing, rather a component of it. Networking comes in many shapes and forms. As a cop, I always hated it. Cops think people suck, so why would we want to come into contact with more people? Well, people will send you business when you’re not a cop!
Yes, it’s true, not everyone sucks. In fact, if you open up a bit, people will generally try to help you out wherever they can. In the beginning, I attended professional networking groups to help. There were bankers, business owners, realtors and yes, lawyers in these groups. The more refined issue becomes one of the specialized nature of our professional services. I started off telling my contacts who were affiliated with these groups “I need to get face time with lawyers”, but that’s not entirely accurate. I needed face time with the RIGHT lawyers – litigators. There are plenty of lawyers who practice and never see the inside of a courtroom. Those lawyers largely aren’t our target market. Attorneys that do wills & trusts generally won’t hire us, unless it’s a HUGE estate and there’s some contention, which in many cases, causes them to call in an outside litigator anyway.
Networking can be done inside the practice of digital forensics as well, and in fact, I’ve received a ton of referrals over the years from others active in our practice, for which I’m always grateful. Whether it’s a Trooper I worked with who has a buddy going through a divorce, an examiner who was contacted by an attorney for a non-criminal issue, contacts at digital forensic software companies or just folks who routinely participate in LinkedIn exchanges, the referrals come regularly from others in our practice. Network with them, get to know them, chat with them, offer to help them, even if there’s no money in it for you. While revenue (discussed below) is important, it’s not always the most important thing, and it generally doesn’t make the phone ring for you.
Along the same lines, networking withing our professional organizations is a fantastic idea too. Whether it’s IACIS, HTCIA, AAFS or any other of the professional organizations, the menial annual membership fee will pay for itself. It also has the benefit of looking good on a CV. But be particular. Casting a wide net here can often lead to overload because every single one of these entities needs volunteers to operate. While that’s great and I recommend it, doing it too much takes away from running the business, which affects the bottom line.
Revenue, Profit, Loss & Pricing
The point of running a business is to make money. That should not be confused with the principles and the “why” of what you’re doing stated in the first article in the series, but it also shouldn’t be completely overlooked. You can’t do any of the things you want to do without revenue. Revenue drives the “why” because, well, you can “why” in one hand and shit in the other and see which weighs more! Jokes aside, it’s important to track revenue, costs, cash flow and the general books for many reasons.
Revenue is the general business income that adds to the profitability of the business. It’s great to look at the books and say, “I billed $300,000 last year!”, but you will not get to keep all of that cash. There will be operating expenses, even if you work out of your home. Overhead includes the aforementioned marketing expenses, hardware (computers, portable hard drives, monitors, equipment, etc.), software licenses – including the small stuff you don’t think about like Adobe Acrobat and MS Office, paying contractors (if applicable), and general non-billable operating costs. This will all add to (or take away from) your profit and loss (P&L). I wish I could tell you that if you bill $1 million dollars in a year, you can keep it all. If you do, you’ll be out of business pretty quickly.
A very common question I’ve received over the years is, “how much do you bill?” Great question! It’s generally considered somewhat of an internal matter that isn’t for consumption for anyone else other than clients, but pricing is important for your profitability AND our industry as a professional service. When I first started my business, I spoke to several trusted contacts to see gather their insight and advice about many things, including pricing. “Why do people pay so much for a Rolex?”, one asked me. Because of the name, the reputation, etc. Your name and your reputation are all part of your personal brand, but your pricing is linked to it. Do not think that low-balling other providers is a good practice. It isn’t. It devalues the services we offer and the value those services have for our clients. Litigation is not a poor man’s game, and our services should be priced appropriately for the world in which we operate. $250 per hour is way too low. $1,000 per hour is probably way too high in 2025 (this could change over time). Know your value, know the value that our services have overall, and price accordingly. Pricing should cover all of your expenses, plus churn a profit so you can pay yourself and any employees/contractors. You’re not the “forensic aid society”, as Lars Daniel once shared with me. You’re here to make money, so your pricing should allow you to do that.
Your pricing should also be assessed, probably annually. If there’s one thing we can probably all agree on in the modern era, it’s that nothing is getting any cheaper. Our tools, the hardware, office leases, electricity… You name it, it’s all going up. And tracking those increases should be cautiously met with pricing increases, but I’d also suggest ensuring you have a decent client base before raising rates too much. Rates are what they are and you should be confident in the value of your services as commensurate with the rate you charge. Many times, we’re solving a problem AND providing valuable information for our clients, so shopping around isn’t necessarily something they’re interested in doing. And one final tip – the clients who are overly concerned with price are likely the ones who will be the biggest resource hog (read: pain in the butt) for you. Your time, your effort, all of it. I’ve seen this repeatedly through the years of DF practice, so be cautious about it.
And always deliver value, a complete & thorough product and treat your clients as if they are your life blood – because they pretty well are.
A word of financial advice: You will likely be working as a 1099 contractor. Whether you have an ongoing contract with the government or simply work to churn case after case, almost no one should be expected to take taxes out of your pay. The good thing is, because we offer a professional service, there’s no sales tax assessed. The bad thing is, you still have to pay taxes, and a fair amount of them. I’ve known professionals in my instructor role who have failed to set aside the appropriate amount for taxes, then come the following April, they are hit with a wallop of a tax bill. Don’t do that. Set aside 30% in a separate account for taxes, and ideally pay them quarterly. It’s a good habit and one you’ll thank yourself for when the IRS comes knocking for their yearly tribute.
Your Personal Brand
As a professional services provider, your personal brand is probably the most important and valuable asset you have. It should be carefully constructed, maintained and grown over time. A lot of principle goes into it – what do you value? What drives you? What are the proverbial hills on which you would die, given a set of circumstances? But your personal brand goes beyond those things and should be cultivated to encompass a body of work.
I have primarily my personal experience on which to draw with regard to this topic, but personal branding is something that I feel is also intangible amongst DF practitioners. While not everyone can do what we do, even those that aren’t effective at analysis can probably sit through a certification class and put some letters behind their name on LinkedIn. The personal brand is what can separate the wheat from the chaff, if done right.
Adhering to principles is the most important piece to this, but how do people (i.e., potential clients and other practitioners) know what your principles are unless you tell them? Blogs, podcasts, articles, etc. all help construct this piece of the personal brand and help your potential clientele and your colleagues know who you are, over time. Some are more successful than others at this, and it can also help inform who is probably a charlatan vs who knows what they’re doing. That piece is likely more for us working in the industry, because my experience has been clients largely don’t pay attention to those nuances.
In many ways, I’d much rather be respected internally amongst colleagues than externally. It’s always been my belief that if my colleagues don’t know I’m a legitimate practitioner, then how can I project that to potential clients? We all know at least one person in our field of practice who we can point to who is “that guy (or gal)”. You know – the ones who are outspoken about things they’re generally ill-informed. The ones who file lawsuits and cease and desist orders against those who challenge them and their bombastic claims. Those whose CV is incredibly hard to find, probably because it’s full of falsehoods and half-truths that if scrutinized, wouldn’t withstand the pressure.
We all know them. Don’t be one of them, and don’t have them as part of your practice.
Commitment: Always Bet On Yourself
A final note here about committing to your decision to open and run a digital forensic practice. It’s a statistical fact that a large percentage of new businesses fail within 3 years. In fact, if you make it to the 3-year mark and revenue is steadily increasing, you should be congratulated and keep going (and learning). It’s hard in the early going, however. Revenue my first year of business was a whopping $7,800. It’s hard to pay a mortgage on that kind of cash flow, and keep the lights on at the business. Many retire from one field, have a steady basic income for life, and choose to start their DF practice. That’s great, but there’s no substitute for having to churn it daily to make ends meet. That brand of hunger, drive, ambition, desire cannot be substituted. It’s survival, and it requires commitment. Commitment to your principles, commitment to the decision to start the business and commitment to yourself. It may also require a large commitment on the part of your loved ones, as it did with me when I started.
That commitment shines through and your clients will see it, but just be careful not to be desperate. That, too, is hard when faced with a growing accounts payable and a stagnant accounts receivable. Stick to the principles that got you where you are and led to the decision to start this venture, it will serve you well, but it takes time and A LOT of hard work. If you build it, they will not come, so you have to commit yourself to going out and getting those clients. Over time, the business will be less on life-support and more viable as it grows.
That’s all for part 2.
Upcoming, Part 3: Growing or Selling a Digital Forensic Business!
About the Author:
Patrick Siewert served 15 years in full-time law enforcement and investigated hundreds of high-tech crimes to precedent-setting results, Patrick is a graduate of SCERS & BCERT and is a court-certified expert witness in digital forensics, mobile forensics and historical cell site location analysis. He has published dozens of articles and is cited in numerous academic papers. He was the Founder & Principal Consultant of Pro Digital Forensic Consulting, based in Richmond, Virginia (USA) and currently serves as Director of Digital Forensics and E-Discovery for a Nationwide (US) provider of DF/IR and e-disco litigation support services, while keeping in touch with the public safety community as a Law Enforcement Instructor in multiple disciplines.
Email: Patrick@ProDigital4n6.com
Patrick Siewert on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-siewert-92513445/
Patrick Siewert on X/Twitter : @RVA4n6
Pro Digital (old) blog site : https://prodigital4n6.blogspot.com/